Communities celebrate National Night Out

Erinn McGuire/Bluffton Today Kelli Normoyle, a member of the the Bluffton Public Safety Committee and National Night Out organizer at Pinecrest, listens to Bluffton Police Officer Cpl. James Carmany offer crime prevention tips Tuesday night at the community's pavilion.

Bluffton Today/Erinn McGuireIdentification pamphlets, bike locks, flashlights and chalk were handed out as raffle prizes Tuesday night during National Night Out at Pinecrest's pavilion. Mill Creek residents also gathered in thier neighborhood for the crime prevention and community building event.

Two neighborhoods in Bluffton gathered Tuesday night in celebration of National Night Out, a crime and drug prevention program that rallied more than 37 million people nationwide last year.

The program aims to generate support for and participation in local anti-crime programs and strengthen neighborhood spirit, according to the National Night Out website.

While the numbers at the Pinecrest pavilion in Bluffton were far fewer, community National Night Out organizer Kelli Normoyle hopes next year’s event will bring out more of her neighbors and drive others to organize.

“We hope more of Bluffton’s communities will get out next year,” she said. “Savannah does it big, and that’s nice, but I think this is really about getting to know your neighbor and being able to be comfortable enough to knock on their door.”

Neighbors brought dinner and presentations on safety were given by Bluffton Police Officer Cpl. James Carmeny and Fire Safety Educator Sandy Shroud of the Bluffton Township Fire District.

Target, the event’s national sponsor, donated gift cards, Normoyle said. She then turned around and used them to buy bike locks and flashlights for a Tuesday night raffle.

Mill Creek off S.C. 170 also held a community-wide event Tuesday night.

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